Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has issued a stark warning to Turkey after Israel bombed a Syrian airbase to prevent Ankara from deploying troops there.
“We will not tolerate a Turkish military entrenchment moving southward, because it threatens us,” he said in an army-radio podcast.
“The message got through, but apparently they didn’t hear it. So we made sure they understood it better,” he said, adding simply: “Don’t.”
He was speaking after Israeli warplanes hit the runway and storage facilities at the Abu al-Duhur military airbase in Syria’s Idlib province in the early hours of Tuesday. There were no reported deaths or injuries.
In an interview with Axios, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani acknowledged that Turkish officers had visited the Abu Duhur base days before the strikes as part of what he described as “ongoing military cooperation in the areas of training and the exchange of expertise.” However, he denied that there were any plans for Turkish troops to deploy there.
Netanyahu’s office said the strike came after intelligence indicated Syria was about to violate a security “status quo” by allowing Turkish troops to be deployed at the base, which Israel views as a direct threat.
Israel is attempting to draw a red line against any Turkish military expansion deeper into Syria, which could shift the balance of power on its northern frontier.
Turkey issued a strong condemnation and warned the airstrikes threatened regional peace and stability.
Syria said they were an “unjustified act of aggression” and a “flagrant violation” of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Turkey has moved from cool diplomacy to open hostility towards Israel, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan framing the Jewish state as the main obstacle to regional peace and a “massacre network” that thrives on occupation.
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